FunanceThe Funance blogAustralian money, explained properly.
No jargon, no affiliate links, no "top 10 credit cards" filler. Just the Australian rules that actually affect your household, worked through with real numbers.
23 articles
What's new in Funance: three views, one Bills card, and a payoff date that now counts interest
Funance now opens in a Simple, Detailed or Expert view, shows each bill once in a To pay and Paid card, and works out a loan's payoff date with the interest counted. The sample mortgage went from about 155 months to about 310. What changed in November, why, and how each piece works.
Read the articleHouse prices are falling. The average home loan now needs $23,600 more income than a year ago.
National home values are 6.7% below their March peak. But five rate rises have added about $589 a month to the repayment on the average new home loan, $731,000 (ABS), while average full-time pay rose 3.7% against 4.3% inflation. The whole ledger, line by line.
Five rate rises in 2026. On the average Australian home loan, repayments are up about $589 a month.
The RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.85% on 3 November, its fifth rise this year. Passed on in full, the November rise adds about $121 a month to the repayments on the average new home loan in Australia ($731,000, ABS), and the year's five rises about $589 a month, or $7,072 a year. The table for four loan sizes, and what the RBA said comes next.
Australians bet $382.5 million on Cup Day 2025. Here's what a year in shares would have done with it, after tax.
A record $382.5 million was bet on Melbourne Cup Day 2025. At the long-run average share return of 9.2% a year, that is about $35 million of growth before tax. What capital gains tax takes, why selling on Cup Day 2026 misses the discount by two days, and why it would barely move inflation.
Four rate rises in 2026. On the average Australian home loan, repayments are up about $469 a month.
The RBA has lifted the cash rate four times this year, from 3.60% to 4.60%. Passed on in full, that adds about $469 a month to the repayments on the average new home loan in Australia ($731,000, ABS), or $5,625 a year. The table for four loan sizes, why each rise costs a little more than the last, and what 3 November could add.
A budgeting app for Australian households: 11 tabs, 3 of them free, and what each one tracks
Funance is an Australian budgeting app with 11 tabs: a free Overview, Budget and Debts, plus Pro tabs for scenarios, net worth, goals, subscriptions, credit cards and giving. What each one tracks, what it costs, and when another app suits you better.
Inflation hit 4.0% in August. Electricity alone was up 13.2%.
Annual CPI rose to 4.0% in August 2026, up from 3.5% in July, while the trimmed mean held at 3.6%. Electricity was up 13.2% over the year, largely because the Commonwealth rebates ended. What the two measures mean, and why a rebate ending counts as inflation.
ANZ Plus vs CommBank vs NAB vs Westpac: which bank app budgets best (2026)
ANZ Plus vs CommBank for day-to-day budgeting in 2026: CommBank's Bill Sense predicts bills up to twelve months ahead, ANZ Plus has shared savings goals on joint accounts, and Westpac has the most tools. How NAB compares, and why none of them works for couples who bank in different places.
Five months of falls took $34,000 off the median home. Your repayment didn’t move.
National home values fell 0.9% in August, a fifth straight monthly fall, leaving them 3.6% below the March peak. CBA now forecasts a 9% fall peak to trough. What that does to your balance sheet, what it does not do, and what actually helps if the repayments are the part that hurts.
Nobody sends a notice when relief ends. Petrol excise jumped 17.1 cents overnight.
On 2 August the fuel excise was 36.6 cents a litre. On 3 August it was 53.7. The energy rebates stopped on 31 December. Neither arrived as a price rise letter, and both are in your bank statement right now.
Your tax return is history. This year is the one you can still change.
Lodgment closes 31 October. Before you file the 2025-26 return, here is what the numbers actually tell you, and why the 2026-27 year that is already two months old deserves more of your attention.
The RBA held rates at 4.35%. Here’s what that actually means.
On 11 August 2026 the RBA left the cash rate at 4.35% for the second meeting running. A plain-English explanation of what the RBA does, why it held, and what it changes for your mortgage and your budget.
Renovate or move? Why the maths now favours staying put
Upgrading from a $1.1M home to a $1.5M one costs about $122,000 in transaction fees before you have changed a thing. With rates at 4.35% and battery rebates stepping down, the calculation has shifted.
Best personal finance apps in Australia (updated November 2026)
Australian finance apps compared: Frollo, WeMoney, Up, PocketSmith, YNAB, the big four bank apps and more, with prices, bank feeds and who each one suits. Written by one of the apps on the list, so we tell you when a competitor is the better pick.
HECS indexation hits 1 June 2026. Here’s exactly how much it’ll add to your debt.
In two weeks the ATO will add somewhere between $700 and $1,000 to the average HECS balance. The exact rate drops late May. Here’s the maths, the one move that beats it, and the strategy mistakes to avoid.
The 2026-27 Federal Budget, plain English. What changes for you (whichever Aussie you are).
Negative gearing, capital gains tax, three rounds of tax cuts. The biggest tax changes since GST. We bust the worst myths and walk through what each demographic actually needs to know.
The RBA just hiked rates to 4.35%. Here’s what that actually means for your budget.
On 5 May 2026 the RBA pushed the cash rate up by 25 basis points to 4.35%. We unpack what it means for your mortgage, your weekly shop, and why it’s a big part of why we built Funance.
The subscription trap: how we all cancelled Foxtel and ended up paying more
Cutting the cord was meant to save you money. Then Stan, Netflix, Disney+, Binge, Paramount+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Kayo, and Spotify happened. Here’s how to actually get ahead.
Avalanche vs Snowball: which actually pays off debt faster for Australian households?
Two strategies. Both work. One saves you more money. The other keeps you motivated. Here’s how to pick, with a real Australian example.
Is your $1,450 Amex Platinum actually worth it?
The marketing says it pays for itself. The reality depends on whether you actually use the perks. Here’s how to work out if your premium card is making you money or burning it.
First home buyer: how much do you actually need to save?
The "20% deposit" rule is folklore. Stamp duty, LMI, conveyancing, and buffer cash are the real numbers. Here’s the honest math for an Australian first home buyer.
How much super do you actually need at 60? Three numbers, three lifestyles.
The ASFA "comfortable retirement" benchmark gets quoted everywhere. We break down what it really takes to retire at 60, 65, or 67 in Australia, and how to know if you’re on track.
Welcome to Funance: why we built another finance app
There are plenty of finance apps. Most of them are either banking apps with a budgeting tab bolted on, or US tools awkwardly converted for Australian users. We wanted something else.